Meeting Mrs Mouse
by Riku-Rocks
Summary: Set shortly after KHII. Riku goes to Disney Castle with King Mickey in order to meet Queen Minnie for the first time, and learns a little more about trust, friendship, and fair chances. Mild spoilers.


_Author's note: Kryal gave the base concept for this story to me as a challenge._

_Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own, hold any rights to, or am affiliated in any way with, Kingdom Hearts. _

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"Minnie is going to be so pleased to finally meet you," said the anthropomorphic mouse as he piloted the Gummi ship towards his home world.

Teal eyes shifted to the small king from the view of the universe that Riku had never seen before. Travelling through dark portals saved time, but you never saw anything besides darkness. "Have you told her much about me?"

"Of course, Riku," answered Mickey. "I tell her about every one of my friends. She knows all about you."

While it felt nice to have Mickey regard him as such a good friend, Riku was a little uneasy about Minnie knowing so much of his tale. It was easy to interpret his tale either way, even though no one knew the whole story. The silver-haired boy had discovered that he could easily be considered a villain or hero. Personally, he thought of himself as neither.

Mickey's eyes flicked over to the silver-haired teen and his ears seemed to droop slightly at his friend's expression. "Don't worry, Riku; no one at the castle thinks poorly of you. They don't have any reason to either."

Although Riku disagreed with that last statement, he knew that if Mickey had been the one to tell the residents of Disney Castle about him, then they probably did not hold any ill will toward him. The teal-eyed boy offered his friend a light smile, "Thanks."

The king smiled in return, "Of course, pal. I just hope that, one day, you won't worry about it all so much."

Riku smirked, "Well, Sora's planning on dragging me to Radiant Garden now that I agreed to come here with you, so once I see how everyone reacts to me here and there, I'll probably either relax a little or decide the worry is merited and never leave home again."

The mouse king chuckled. "Whelp, then I guess you'll be feeling better soon enough."

Riku could not help but feel slightly comforted by his friend's certainty.

"Here we are," said Mickey cheerfully as they approached the world.

Riku could make out the large castle and a few cities as Mickey headed for the Gummi garage.

Upon exiting the ship, Riku and Mickey were greeted by two chipmunks, whom Riku recognised from both Sora's and Mickey's descriptions.

They introduced themselves anyway.

First, both bowed to Mickey as they welcomed him home, then they turned to the silver-haired teen. "Hi Riku! I'm Chip," said the one that looked like a normal chipmunk…as far as talking ones that wear clothes go.

"…And I'm Dale," said the chipmunk with the red bulbous nose and a large gap between his teeth. "We helped Sora over his journeys."

Riku nodded to acknowledge the greeting, but obviously did have to introduce himself. "He told me," he responded instead, "Thanks for that."

"Of course," replied Chip.

"Sora's our buddy," added Dale. Riku vaguely wondered if they always continued each other's sentences.

"Him and King Mickey told us about you," stated Dale.

"We're glad you got out of the darkness," added Chip. "Sora and King Mickey were really worried about you."

Riku decided that answered his unspoken question. "Thanks," he replied, only marginally uncomfortable.

Mickey joined the conversation then, easily ending it and saying goodbye to his friends and Gummi mechanics.

"Thanks," Riku said to his friend as they left the Gummi garage.

"No problem. We need to stop by the study before we see Minnie," stated Mickey.

"Okay," replied the teal-eyed boy. "That reminds me, Sora and I decided you should keep DiZ…I mean, the real Ansem's reports. I brought them."

The mouse king looked at his friend as they walked, "Really? Thanks pal, but I think you two have earned them."

Riku shook his head. "No, DiZ wrote them with you in mind. He wanted you to read them, so they should stay with you. Besides, you'll live longer than either of us, and I don't want them getting lost again."

Mickey watched the boy thoughtfully. He knew that the relationship between the sage and the teen had been a complex one, but he also knew that they had respected and even cared about each other in the end. "I think you have the most right to them, so if you want me to keep them, I won't argue. Thanks Riku."

Riku nodded as he handed the documents to his small friend.

They reached the study and Mickey wasted no time in putting their departed friend's reports away while Pluto greeted Riku enthusiastically.

The silver-haired boy kneeled on the ground to scratch the dog and glanced at the paintings in the study as Mickey retrieved something from his desk drawer. The teal-eyed boy wondered if Sora had figured out that Mickey was far older than he appeared when he was here, or if his friend had simply assumed the portraits were of the king's ancestors.

"All set," Mickey stated as he turned to his friend. "Let's go find Minnie. I bet she's setting up some tea."

Assuming that his friend realised he had no idea how to act at a formal tea serving; Riku followed his friend out of the study with Pluto on his heels.

Mickey pointed out different rooms and told little bits of the castle's history as the two friends made their way through the palace.

They eventually found Minnie in a cosy room that was considerably smaller than the others they had passed. Riku was glad for this, after his time spent in darkness, virtual towns, and travelling by dark portals, he liked seeing the room's boundaries around him.

The queen was sitting at a table by a large window in this room. As her husband had predicted, she had tea, sandwiches, and cakes set out before her.

She stood as they approached and walked around the table to meet Mickey. Taking her hand the king said, "Minnie, I'd like you meet my good friend, Riku."

Without even thinking, Riku bent slightly at the waist in a respectful bow. "It's nice to meet you, your highness," he said when he straightened.

The queen smiled brightly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you too, Riku, and please, call me Minnie. You have been too good a friend to Mickey to be so formal."

Riku smiled lightly at this, "Alright, although I think he's been a better friend than I have."

"Conquering the darkness is easier than carrying it," commented Minnie. "Not just anyone would choose the path you did for your friends, and you helped Mickey a great deal."

Teal eyes blinked. The boy really had not expected that.

"Riku still needs time to realise all the good he did," said Mickey, giving Minnie's hand a squeeze.

"Well, then," said the queen with a smile. "Why don't we talk about something else over tea?" She turned to her husband and added, "I made some of those little cakes you like."

Mickey returned the smile. "Thanks, Minnie." He turned to the silver-haired boy, "Come on, you must be hungry after that trip."

The three sat at the table and soon fell into easy conversation as they ate and sipped strawberry vanilla tea, which was the queen's favourite. It seemed that neither Mickey nor Minnie had expected any formalities to be upheld, and Riku found himself feeling quite comfortable around the pair.

Minnie and Mickey told Riku about what the area had been like before Disney Castle was there, as well as what the rest of Mouseton was like now, along with the neighbouring cities, Duckburg and Spoonerville.

Riku told them about Destiny Islands, especially the islets that he and his friends used as a hang out spot.

Eventually they each started talking about how they met all of their current friends.

During this conversation, Mickey turned to Minnie. "How did you end up meeting Sora, anyway?"

"Sora stopped by with Donald and Goofy when Mickey was looking for Ansem the Wise." Minnie smiled as she looked at Riku, "Too bad he didn't think to ask you about that."

The teal-eyed boy smiled in return, "Yeah, well…I didn't know who he was at first. Sora mentioned filling in as a bodyguard for a couple hours...How did that go?"

The queen chuckled at this statement. Riku arched an eyebrow.

"Why is that funny?" Mickey asked lightly.

"Sora is a nice boy and a good friend, but not the best body guard," answered Minnie with a smile. "I took care of most of the Heartless in the corridor with my magic, and then we both just ran for it when we reached the throne room, and the cornerstone protected us once I reached the throne."

Riku grinned at the difference between this version of the story and Sora's. He suspected Minnie's was more accurate. "I think I have to agree with you then. He's a good friend, but a lousy guard."

All three laughed and continued talking.

The rest of the day passed pleasantly. Minnie and Mickey gave Riku a tour of the castle grounds, and they all decided on which sights Riku would have to see during his visit.

As the silver-haired teen went to bed in the room his friends had insisted he stay in during his stay on their world, he was glad that Mickey had convinced him to come. If everyone gave him the same fair chance that Minnie did, then maybe he really did not have to worry so much.

In any case, he was thankful that he had befriended the mouse king all those months before in the darkness.


End file.
